These easy-to-make classic treats are given a fun holiday spin! Gingerbread Rice Krispies Treats are festive sweets packed with gingerbread flavor and are the perfect addition to your holiday cookie plates. Plus, they're so simple, you can make and decorate them with your kids!
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What's one of the easiest-to-make homemade desserts you can think of? Rice Krispies treats is definitely high up on that list. You need minimal ingredients and tools and barely any time at all.
And while plain Rice Krispies treats are lovely, I wanted to give them their own holiday spin in both flavor and shape. These Gingerbread Rice Krispies Treats are packed with gingerbread flavor and are pretty adorable to boot.
They make a fun addition to the holiday cookie platter, but can also be wrapped up individually for a cute holiday gift or for a holiday bake sale.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
You'll love these little treats because they're SO easy to make, but also cute and fun. You don't have to be an expert baker to make Rice Krispies treats and even turning them into gingerbread men doesn't require any decorating expertise.
You can make these gingerbread Rice Krispies treats quickly by yourself or you can do them as an activity with your kids.
They're also very tasty! Not only do they look like gingerbread men, but they have lots of sweet gingerbread flavor, too!
🗒 Ingredients
If you've ever made Rice Krispies treats before, you know how simple the ingredients are. This recipe does require a few more, but they're mainly just spices and flavorings!
Here's everything you need for the treats (be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredients amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Unsalted butter
- Mini marshmallows: you can substitute with full-size
- Rice Krispies
- Molasses
- Vanilla extract
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground allspice
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Mini M&Ms: for decorating gingerbread men
- Melted white chocolate: for decorating gingerbread men
👩🍳 How to make gingerbread Rice Krispies treats
Have you made Rice Krispies treats before? They're so easy! The only difference between regular ones and these gingerbread ones is the addition of some spices and flavorings. There are no extra steps involved!
To start, lightly coat a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
Once melted, add in marshmallows.
I like to use mini marshmallows since they melt quickly and easily. But you can use regular-size if you want. There are slightly more mini marshmallows in a 10 oz. bag, but it honestly doesn't make much of a difference in this recipe.
Stir until the marshmallows are completely melted.
This should only take 5 or so minutes, but make sure you do it over low heat and don't try to make them melt faster with higher heat.
Remove saucepan from heat and add Rice Krispies to the melted marshmallows. Add molasses, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.
Gently stir mixture until cereal is completely coated in marshmallow.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and gently press it down.
I recommend using a lightly oiled rubber spatula so it's not too sticky. Be careful not to press too compactly as you want the Rice Krispies treats to have a light and airy feel to them.
Let cool for about 5 minutes before using a lightly oiled gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut shapes.
Press remaining scraps together in the pan and continue cutting shapes. You don't want to waste any of the mixture!
You can leave the little gingerbread men as they are (so cute!) or you can decorate them however you want.
I like to use mini M&Ms and melted white chocolate to decorate. The white chocolate can also be used to adhere the M&Ms to the treats.
If you prefer, you can use melted chocolate for all the decorations or even find other candies that would work.
How fun are these?? They're really not that much more difficult than making regular Rice Krispies treats, but they're so, so cute and perfect for the holidays!
Plus, they taste like gingerbread! I made these a few times experimenting with the flavor combinations to get them just right.
If you're not a fan of gingerbread flavor, you can always make these plain Rice Krispies treats simply in the shape of gingerbread men.
🍬 Can I use regular marshmallows?
You can! I find that mini marshmallows melt a little bit more quickly, but you can also use regular.
There is a slightly different amount in a 10 oz bag of regular size marshmallows (a little less than in a mini bag), but this isn't a problem.
One of the great things about Rice Krispies treats is that they are super forgiving and adding more or less marshmallow isn't going to make or break the results.
☁️ Can I use marshmallow fluff?
I haven't tried this recipe with marshmallow fluff, but it should work just fine with a 7 oz. jar.
Still follow this recipe and heat the butter and marshmallow. Stir until it comes together and then remove from the heat and fold the rest of the ingredients in.
⏲ How to store
Rice Krispies treats should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. When stored properly they should stay soft and fresh for 2-3 days.
They can certainly be kept for longer, they just won't be as fresh.
You can also feel free to freeze the treats. I recommend wrapping them all individually in plastic wrap and storing in a Ziplock bag with all the air removed.
👩🎨 Do I have to decorate?
Nope! But I do recommend it since I think the decorated gingerbread men are super cute and it's so easy to do.
Plus, it can be a fun Christmas project for your kids!
💠 How many does this recipe make?
I got about 14 gingerbread men using a 3 ½" gingerbread man cookie cutter. But how many you get will totally depend on the size of your cookie cutter.
If you were to cut them into 2-inch squares, you'd get 12 treats.
🥣 More gingerbread recipes
I love making gingerbread desserts and drinks during the Christmas season, but also occasionally make them during the year, too. Here are some of my favorite gingerbread recipes:
- Gingerbread Syrup
- Molasses Ginger Cookies
- Gingerbread Rolls with Eggnog Glaze
- Orange Gingerbread Meringue
- Ice Gingerbread Latte
- Gingerbread Energy Balls
- Gingerbread Shortbread Cookies
- Eggnog Gingerbread Cookies
- Triple Gingerbread Ice Cream
- Gingerbread Puppuccinos for Dogs
- Gingerbread Biscotti (from Laughing Spatula)
I hope these Gingerbread Rice Krispies Treats make your holiday cookie platters and parties a little bit brighter!
Are you a fan of gingerbread flavor?
📖 Recipe
Gingerbread Rice Krispies Treats
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 10 oz. bag mini marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispies
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- Mini M&Ms, for decorating
- Melted white chocolate, for decorating
Instructions
- Lightly coat a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Once melted, add in marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are completely melted.
- Remove saucepan from heat and add Rice Krispies to the melted marshmallows. Add molasses, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt and gently stir mixture until cereal is completely coated in marshmallow.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and gently press down. I recommend using a lightly oiled rubber spatula so it's not too sticky. Don't press too compactly as you want treats to still be light and airy.
- Let treats cool for about 5 minutes before using a lightly oiled gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Press remaining scraps together in the pan and continue cutting shapes until all of the. mixture is gone.
- Use mini M&Ms and melted white chocolate to decorate gingerbread men, if desired. You can use the melted chocolate to adhere the M&Ms.
Notes
- The amount of Rice Krispies treats you get will depend on the size of your cookie cutter. If you simply cut the treats into 2-inch squares, you'll get 12.
- Treats will stay soft and fresh for 2-3 days when store in an airtight container at room temperature.
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